5 Quick Things #240 💪

Goodwill Greek statues, making stuff yourself, toddler Mozart, & correct self-importance

Hey there,

Like you, my head is spinning and my heart is wrenching at this week’s news of the death of little ones at the hand of a deranged one. Again. As news continues to unfurl, I’ve found myself needing to walk away from the screen and walk on real roads in my neighborhood, contemplating all the thousands and millions of families that live through those front doors and gather around those tables. Kyrie Eleison.

Tomorrow I give the speech at our school’s graduation, so I’ve also been thinking about the fleetingness of childhood and the earned wisdom that comes from age… I don’t feel old enough inside to dispense advice in front of grandparents who’ve taken a plane to witness their grandkids turn their tassels, but I do feel human enough. This weekend I’ll talk behind a podium, eat cake and give congratulatory hugs, pull weeds from the garden and harvest some blackberries, and also marvel at the grace of the people around my dinner table.

During weeks like this, I think of Ram Das’ quip about what we’re doing here on earth: “We’re all just walking each other home.”

Mother and Child, by Christian Krohg (1883)

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5 Quick Things ☕️

1. 👉 New episode of A Drink With a Friend! 👈 Both Seth and I became Catholic after a lifetime of being Protestant. Why? ...That's the question we get asked by many of you ALL the time. In this chat, we dip their toes in the water of answering this massive question that doesn't have just one answer, focusing first more on my journey.

2.  Not long ago I heard a local story about a woman here in the Austin area buying at Goodwill what turned out to be a priceless ancient Grecian bust. Here are a few companion stories of fantastic found treasures.

3. The power of doing it yourself… Kyle and I were talking about this very thing walking home from our weekly date last night. “Modern realities can condition our attention toward concepts of little benefit to our lives rather than toward the quotidian moments that make up the bulk of our lived experiences.”

4. Is reading fiction a waste of time? You know my own answer, but this essay adds valuable insight to this time-honored hobby. “Literature can help us to have mercy on ourselves and others, can divest us of the ignorance that places ourselves at the center of the universe…”

5. And finally, my old 5QT standby Cal Newport shares via video four perks to living without social media. …It’s a good refresher for my upcoming annual summer screen break.

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Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

• Love in the Ruins, by Walker Percy (via audiobook)

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Quotable 💬

“Everything depends on upbringing.”

— Leo Tolstoy, War & Peace #

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In The Commonplace 🏘

This week we’ve been enjoying one of our best discussion topics around here: books! What’s on your TBR stack this summer? I’d love to hear:

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Quick Links 🔗

• Create your own Rule of Life

• Subscribe to A Drink With a Friend

• Travel with me + Seth & Amber Haines to Tuscany, Italy: July 23-August 2

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Italy! 🇮🇹

Photo by David Bruggink on Unsplash

Don’t forget: For the month of May, you’ll get $250 off your registration for our trip to Tuscany if you sign up by the end of the month! That’s in five days, and I’d love to have you with us this summer. All are welcome.

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Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

What one piece of advice would you give your high school senior self?

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Have a great weekend,

Tsh

p.s. WHAT.